6:38 AM,
Aug. 26, 2013

Ohio Highway Patrol troopers and Lancaster police officers conduct a sobriety checkpoint on East Main Street in Lancaster.

Written by

Patrick O?Neill
CentralOhio.com

The Ohio laws that govern felony convictions for operating a vehicle under the influence are some of the most lenient in the country.

Only four states - Alabama, Arkansas, Wisconsin and Wyoming - require less time between third and fourth offenses for drunken drivers to achieve felony status. In the Buckeye state, MADD reports 33,000 drivers have five or more OVIs.

"I've seen as many as eight or nine (OVIs) from the same person," said Muskingum County Common Pleas Judge Mark Fleegle. ...